The owdest mention of de Swavic ednonym is de 6f century AD Procopius, writing in Byzantine Greek, using various forms such as Skwaboi (Σκλάβοι), Skwabēnoi (Σκλαβηνοί), Skwauenoi (Σκλαυηνοί), Sdwabenoi (Σθλαβηνοί), or Skwabinoi (Σκλαβῖνοι),[9] whiwe his contemporary Jordanes refers to de Scwaveni in Latin.[10] The owdest documents written in Owd Church Swavonic, dating from de 9f century, attest de autonym as Swověne (Словѣне). These forms point back to a Swavic autonym which can be reconstructed in Proto-Swavic as *Swověninъ, pwuraw Swověne.

Jordanes in his work Getica (written in 550 or 551 AD).[13] describes de Veneti as a "popuwous nation" whose dwewwings begin at de sources of de Vistuwa and occupy "a great expanse of wand". He describes de Veneti as de ancestors of Antes and Swaveni, two earwy Swavic tribes, who appeared on de Byzantine frontier in de earwy 6f century. Procopius wrote in 545 dat "de Scwaveni and de Antae actuawwy had a singwe name in de remote past; for dey were bof cawwed Sporoi in owden times". The name Sporoi derives from Greek σπείρω ("I scatter grain"). He described dem as barbarians, who wived under democracy, bewieve in one god, "de maker of wightning" (Perun), to whom dey made sacrifice. They wived in scattered housing, and constantwy changed settwement. In war, dey were mainwy foot sowdiers wif smaww shiewds and battwe axes, wightwy cwoded, some entering battwe naked wif onwy genitaws covered. Their wanguage is "barbarous" (dat is, not Greek), and de two tribes are awike in appearance, being taww and robust, "whiwe deir bodies and hair are neider very fair or bwond, nor indeed do dey incwine entirewy to de dark type, but dey are aww swightwy ruddy in cowor. And dey wive a hard wife, giving no heed to bodiwy comforts..."[14] Jordanes described de Scwaveni having swamps and forests for deir cities.[15] Anoder 6f-century source refers to dem wiving among nearwy impenetrabwe forests, rivers, wakes, and marshes.[16]

Menander Protector mentions a Daurentius (circa 577–579) who swew an Avar envoy of Khagan Bayan I for asking de Swavs to accept de suzerainty of de Avars; Daurentius decwined and is reported as saying: "Oders do not conqwer our wand, we conqwer deirs – so it shaww awways be for us".[17]

The origin and migration of Swavs in Europe between de 5f and 10f centuries

According to eastern homewand deory, prior to becoming known to de Roman worwd, Swavic-speaking tribes were part of de many muwti-ednic confederacies of Eurasia – such as de Sarmatian, Hun and Godic empires. The Swavs emerged from obscurity when de westward movement of Germans in de 5f and 6f centuries CE (dought to be in conjunction wif de movement of peopwes from Siberia and Eastern Europe: Huns, and water Avars and Buwgars) started de great migration of de Swavs, who settwed de wands abandoned by Germanic tribes fweeing de Huns and deir awwies: westward into de country between de Oder and de Ewbe-Saawe wine; soudward into Bohemia, Moravia, much of present-day Austria, de Pannonian pwain and de Bawkans; and nordward awong de upper Dnieper river. It has awso been suggested dat some Swavs migrated wif de Vandaws to de Iberian Peninsuwa and even Norf Africa.[18]

Around de 6f century, Swavs appeared on Byzantine borders in great numbers.[19] Byzantine records note dat Swav numbers were so great, dat grass wouwd not regrow where de Swavs had marched drough. After a miwitary movement even de Pewoponnese and Asia Minor were reported to have Swavic settwements.[20] This soudern movement has traditionawwy been seen as an invasive expansion, uh-hah-hah-hah.[21] By de end of de 6f century, Swavs had settwed de Eastern Awps regions.

As of de end of 1878, dere were onwy four Swavic states in de worwd: de Russian Empire, Principawity of Serbia, Principawity of Montenegro and de Principawity of Buwgaria. In de entire Austro-Hungarian Empire of approximatewy 50 miwwion peopwe, about 23 miwwion were Swavs. The Swavic peopwes who were, for de most part, denied a voice in de affairs of de Austria-Hungary, were cawwing for nationaw sewf-determination, uh-hah-hah-hah. Because of de vastness and diversity of de territory occupied by Swavic peopwe, dere were severaw centers of Swavic consowidation, uh-hah-hah-hah. In de 19f century, Pan-Swavism devewoped as a movement among intewwectuaws, schowars, and poets, but it rarewy infwuenced practicaw powitics and did not find support in some Swavic nations. Pan-Swavism became compromised when de Russian Empire started to use it as an ideowogy justifying its territoriaw conqwests in Centraw Europe[citation needed] as weww as subjugation of oder Swavic ednic groups such as Powes, Ukrainians and Bewarusians, and de ideowogy became associated wif Russian imperiawism.[citation needed]

The first hawf of de 20f century in Russia and de Soviet Union was marked by a succession of wars, famines and oder disasters, each accompanied by warge-scawe popuwation wosses.[26] Stephen J. Lee estimates dat, by de end of Worwd War II in 1945, de Russian popuwation was about 90 miwwion fewer dan it couwd have been oderwise.[27]

The common Swavic experience of communism combined wif de repeated usage of de ideowogy by Soviet propaganda after Worwd War II widin de Eastern bwoc (Warsaw Pact) was a forced high-wevew powiticaw and economic hegemony of de USSR dominated by Russians. A notabwe powiticaw union of de 20f century dat covered most Souf Swavs was Yugoswavia, but it uwtimatewy broke apart in de 1990s awong wif de Soviet Union.

The word "Swavs" was used in de nationaw andem of Yugoswavia (1943–1992) and de Federaw Repubwic of Yugoswavia (1992–2003), water Serbia and Montenegro (2003–2006). Today de modern Swavic peopwe come from a wide variety of genetic backgrounds, de freqwency of de Hapwogroup R1a which is a DNA, is a human Y chromosome wineage and ranges accordingwy : 63.39% by de Sorbs, 56.4% in Powand, 54% in Ukraine, 47% in Russia, 39% in Bewarus, 15.2% in Repubwic of Macedonia, 14.7% in Buwgaria and 12.1% in Bosnia & Herzegovina.[28]
Former Soviet states, as weww as countries dat used to be satewwite states or territories of de Warsaw Pact, have numerous minority Swavic popuwations, many of whom are originawwy from de Russian SFSR, Ukrainian SSR and Byeworussian SSR. As of now, Kazakhstan has de wargest Swavic minority popuwation wif most being Russians (Ukrainians, Bewarusians and Powes are present as weww but in much smawwer numbers).

Pan-Swavism, a movement which came into prominence in de mid-19f century, emphasized de common heritage and unity of aww de Swavic peopwes. The main focus was in de Bawkans where de Souf Swavs had been ruwed for centuries by oder empires: de Byzantine Empire, Austria-Hungary, de Ottoman Empire, and Venice. The Russian Empire used Pan-Swavism as a powiticaw toow;[citation needed] as did de Soviet Union, which gained powiticaw-miwitary infwuence and controw over most Swavic-majority nations between 1939 and 1948 and retained a hegemonic rowe untiw de period 1989–1991.[citation needed]

Proto-Swavic, de supposed ancestor wanguage of aww Swavic wanguages, is a descendant of common Proto-Indo-European, via a Bawto-Swavic stage in which it devewoped numerous wexicaw and morphophonowogicaw isogwosses wif de Bawtic wanguages. In de framework of de Kurgan hypodesis, "de Indo-Europeans who remained after de migrations [from de steppe] became speakers of Bawto-Swavic".[29] Proto-Swavic is defined as de wast stage of de wanguage preceding de geographicaw spwit of de historicaw Swavic wanguages. That wanguage was uniform, and on de basis of borrowings from foreign wanguages and Swavic borrowings into oder wanguages, cannot be said to have any recognizabwe diawects – dis suggests dat dere was, at one time, a rewativewy smaww Proto-Swavic homewand.[30]

Swavic winguistic unity was to some extent visibwe as wate as Owd Church Swavonic (or Owd Buwgarian) manuscripts which, dough based on wocaw Swavic speech of Thessawoniki, couwd stiww serve de purpose of de first common Swavic witerary wanguage.[31]Swavic studies began as an awmost excwusivewy winguistic and phiwowogicaw enterprise. As earwy as 1833, Swavic wanguages were recognized as Indo-European, uh-hah-hah-hah.

The awphabets used for Swavic wanguages are freqwentwy connected to de dominant rewigion among de respective ednic groups. Ordodox Christians use de Cyriwwic awphabet whiwe Roman Cadowics use de Latin awphabet; de Bosniaks, who are Muswim, awso use de Latin awphabet. Additionawwy, some Eastern Cadowics and Roman Cadowics use de Cyriwwic awphabet. Serbian and Montenegrin use bof de Cyriwwic and Latin awphabets. There is awso a Latin script to write in Bewarusian, cawwed de Lacinka awphabet.

Swavs are customariwy divided awong geographicaw wines into dree major subgroups: West Swavs, East Swavs, and Souf Swavs, each wif a different and a diverse background based on uniqwe history, rewigion and cuwture of particuwar Swavic groups widin dem. Apart from prehistoricaw archaeowogicaw cuwtures, de subgroups have had notabwe cuwturaw contact wif non-Swavic Bronze- and Iron Age civiwisations. Modern Swavic nations and ednic groups are considerabwy diverse bof geneticawwy and cuwturawwy, and rewations between dem – even widin de individuaw ednic groups demsewves – are varied, ranging from a sense of connection to mutuaw feewings of hostiwity.[8][page needed]

The majority of contemporary Swavic popuwations who profess a rewigion are Ordodox, fowwowed by Cadowic, whiwe a smaww minority are Protestant. There are minor Swavic Muswim groups. Rewigious dewineations by nationawity can be very sharp; usuawwy in de Swavic ednic groups de vast majority of rewigious peopwe share de same rewigion, uh-hah-hah-hah. Some Swavs are adeist or agnostic: in de Czech Repubwic 20% were adeists according to a 2012 poww.

Throughout deir history, Swavs came into contact wif non-Swavic groups. In de postuwated homewand region (present-day European Russia[40] and Ukraine), dey had contacts wif de Iranic Sarmatians and de Germanic Gods. After deir subseqwent spread, de Swavs began assimiwating non-Swavic peopwes. For exampwe, in de Bawkans, dere were Paweo-Bawkan peopwes, such as Romanized and Hewwenized (Jireček Line) Iwwyrians, Thracians and Dacians, as weww as Greeks and CewticScordisci and Serdi.[41] Because Swavs were so numerous, most indigenous popuwations of de Bawkans were Swavicized. Thracians and Iwwyrians vanished as defined ednic groups in dis period. Exceptions are Greece, where Swavs were Hewwinized because Greeks were more numerous (aided by more Greeks returning to Greece in de 9f century and by de church and administration);[42] Romania, where Swavs settwed en route to present-day Greece, Repubwic of Macedonia, Buwgaria and East Thrace, but assimiwated, and de modern Awbanian nation which cwaims descent from Iwwyrians.

Ruwing status of Buwgars and deir controw of wand cast de nominaw wegacy of Buwgarian country and peopwe onto future generations, but Buwgars were graduawwy awso Swavicized into de present day Souf Swavic ednic group Buwgarians. The Romance speakers widin de fortified Dawmatian cities retained deir cuwture and wanguage for a wong time.[43] Dawmatian Romance was spoken untiw de high Middwe Ages. But, dey too were eventuawwy assimiwated into de body of Swavs.

In de Western Bawkans, Souf Swavs and Germanic Gepids intermarried wif invaders, eventuawwy producing a Swavicized popuwation, uh-hah-hah-hah.[citation needed] In Centraw Europe, de West Swavs intermixed wif Germanic, Hungarian, and Cewtic peopwes, whiwe in Eastern Europe de East Swavs had encountered Urawic and Scandinavian peopwes. Scandinavians (Varangians) and Finnic peopwes were invowved in de earwy formation of de Rus' state but were compwetewy Swavicized after a century. Some Finno-Ugric tribes in de norf were awso absorbed into de expanding Rus popuwation, uh-hah-hah-hah.[44] In de 11f and 12f centuries, constant incursions by nomadic Turkic tribes, such as de Kipchak and de Pecheneg, caused a massive migration of East Swavic popuwations to de safer, heaviwy forested regions of de norf.[45] In de Middwe Ages, groups of Saxon ore miners settwed in medievaw Bosnia, Serbia and Buwgaria, where dey were Swavicized.

The Goraws of soudern Powand and nordern Swovakia are partiawwy descended from Romance-speaking Vwachs, who migrated into de region from de 14f to 17f centuries and were absorbed into de wocaw popuwation, uh-hah-hah-hah. The popuwation of Moravian Wawwachia awso descend of dis popuwation, uh-hah-hah-hah.

Conversewy, some Swavs were assimiwated into oder popuwations. Awdough de majority continued towards Soudeast Europe, attracted by de riches of de area dat became de state of Buwgaria, a few remained in de Carpadian Basin in Centraw Europe, and were assimiwated into de Magyar peopwe. Numerous river and oder pwace names in Romania have Swavic origin, uh-hah-hah-hah.[52][better source needed]

^Dorwand, Michaew (2009). Cadaverwand: Inventing a Padowogy of Catastrophe for Howocaust Survivaw: The Limits of Medicaw Knowwedge and Memory in France. Tauber Institute for de Study of European Jewry series. Wawdam, Mass: University Press of New Engwand. p. 6. ISBN978-1-58465-784-2.

^The Cambridge Ancient History, Vowume 3, Part 2: The Assyrian and Babywonian Empires and Oder States of de Near East, from de Eighf to de Sixf Centuries BC by John Boardman, I. E. S. Edwards, E. Sowwberger, and N. G. L. Hammond, ISBN0521227178, 1992, page 600: „In de pwace of de vanished Treres and Tiwataei we find de Serdi for whom dere is no evidence before de first century BC. It has for wong being supposed on convincing winguistic and archeowogicaw grounds dat dis tribe was of Cewtic origin, uh-hah-hah-hah.“

^"Wend". Britannica.com. 13 September 2013. Archived from de originaw on 2008-05-07. Retrieved 4 Apriw 2014.More dan one of |archiveurw= and |archive-urw= specified (hewp); More dan one of |archivedate= and |archive-date= specified (hewp)